As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.

For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.

Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.

For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.

In a school in Memphis 26% of the girls are pregnant. Abstinence until marriage, the most common type of abstinence taught in this country, does not teach anything about sexual intercourse, except to not have it. Is this the right policy?

Earlier this week President Obama delivered his State of the Union address and issued a clarion call for sweeping education reform. Giving an honest assessment of the challenge facing the United States of America, President Obama stated that public education simply isn’t making the grade. The major question is whether the needs of our nation’s students or of a 2012 reelection campaign will take center stage for President Obama.

Voting in a Republican Congress on Tuesday is a gamble. With the economy in the tank, the Obama Administration needs both a wake-up call as well as political cover for decisions that would be unpopular with the liberal base on economic issues. The imperative for change makes voting Republican a well-placed bet. And should it not live up to its promise, a Republican Congress may be what President Obama needs for reelection.

China-bashing commercials abound the airwaves in support of both Democrats and Republicans. Such political messages not only portray Americans as horrible human beings in the eyes of foreigners but are also counterproductive for America’s foreign policy. While Chinese policy-makers acknowledge the fact that such politicians may only be pandering to domestic audiences, they also know that in a democracy, elected representatives are accountable to the electorate, and it is therefore reasonable for them to question American intentions.

In the number one country in the world, the quality of an education should not depend on one’s state of residence. This is the United States of America, shouldn’t all of the state education systems be united?

In what was a less-than-surprising veto of a teacher merit-bay system backed by former Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Governor Charlie Crist secured his political future. The problem, however, is that no one can seem to agree as to what exactly that means. Did Crist just recruit a huge base of supporters in the democrat-heavy teacher population that will help him get elected to the US Senate? Or did he alienate the Republican base…again?

In order for changes in the public education system to be enacted, the sources of educational rot need to be identified. And though Secretary of Education Arne Duncan should be praised for attempting to raise educational standards, relying on test scores is not the way to go.

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